A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post about meth addiction that is becoming a real problem in Thailand and other South East Asian countries. I know about this as I have been engaged regularly by some of the rehab centers in and around Chiang Mai to produce video media for them. It was during this time that I became good friends with Alastair Mordey or "Ali" as his friends know him. Ali is recovering addict that helps others struggling with drug and alcohol addiction to conquer their demons. He is an expert in all manner of treatment programs but the one nearest his heart is the core concept of using physical exercise to beat addiction.
Before Covid started he opened up a very cool place that is what's known as a "sober house" A sober house is where people that have finished some kind of residential treatment program for addiction can move into after their rehab program finishes. I guess it's kinda like a "halfway house" A place where people can slowly go back in to the normal world and be exposed to their triggers again.
Ali operates his sober house a little bit like a private gym or dojo. People can immerse themselves in martial arts training or weight training or whatever other sport they wish to engage in. He keeps people exhausted and the focus is on channeling their addictive cravings towards physical exercise. This is a tried and proven treatment method and one that saved Ali many years ago.
Ali and I have worked on quite a few video projects together over the years and this time we wanted to do something a bit different. We wanted the video to be a little ambiguous and leave the viewer wanting to know more. I filmed the below video in just one morning and one afternoon over two days.
We filmed the martial arts training scenes at a view point halfway up that large mountain behind Chiang Mai - It was totally dark when we arrived and we set up and waited for the sun to rise filming straight in to the sun. The guy practicing the martial arts is one of Ali's clients. He has battled addiction for much of his adult life but now that he has met Ali, life is looking very positive for him.
Ali's concept for young men joining Alpha (the name of his sober house) is that you are joining a brotherhood. All these guys you live and train with are all facing the same demons as you and being able to rely on each other for support is key to staying clean and sober. Ali is an amazing person and one of those rare people that is always putting others before himself. If you need help - Ali will help you.
